St. Francis High School Clubs & Activities 2022-2023

S T . F R A N C I S H I G H S C H O O L

Students of St. Francis High School,

What makes our school special is that everyone is encouraged to become more than just a student. We know that many of you play sports and enjoy the athletic offerings and accomplishments that come with an education at St. Francis, but we as a school community want everyone to become involved on campus (before, during, and after school). Our campus truly feels alive when students are working and learning, and trying new things or practicing what they love. Our clubs and activities are great opportunities for you to meet new people, make lifelong friends, and build positive relationships with faculty and staff. WE are St. Francis all of us.

I also want you to know that we are listening; if you have any ideas for new clubs or activities, then please let us know. We are always looking for ways to serve the passion of our students.

Mr. Timothy Monahan Vice Principal

Dear St. Francis Students,

WELCOME! Whether there is a back at the end of that welcome or not, we are very excited to see you all on campus. As you begin to settle in on your journey this year, there are many different tasks to think about. Your new classes and teachers, your athletic interests, and even the new friends that you will be meeting in the coming weeks. We wanted to take the time to provide you with this wonderful resource. We have so many activities, clubs, and sports for you to invest yourself in. At St. Francis, it is very common to see athletes participating in the spring musical, and for students to excel in the classroom while also being part of numerous clubs. St. Francis is truly a special place, and it is made that way by you! One of the goals as a St. Francis student, is finding the path of being a renaissance man. So, while you’re here try out all of those clubs that you’re interested in and live your renaissance.

Mrs. Schmidbauer and Ms. Stone Student Association Co Moderators

School clubs are the building blocks of our community here at St. Francis. They provide a network to interact with students between classes and nurture relationships to strengthen our brotherhood. The greatest thing I learned from becoming Student Body President here at St. Francis is that our clubs are what we make of them. You have the opportunity to assume a leadership role with the backing of good friends and pursue new activities and opportunities to reach out of the 8 2 classroom setting. St. Francis is a focused community regarding academics, athletics, and the arts, but that does not mean we cannot include social time to pursue the activities we enjoy. Do not be complacent with your position at St. Francis and be comfortable with just being an athlete or a phenomenal student. Franciscan men are supposed to be well rounded and bring multiple talents into the world as a community. We have opportunities to travel, go to nice restaurants, and play games we enjoy. More importantly, we have a faculty that is willing to listen to our voices and the direction we want to go with life on campus. We need you in positions to grow not only for yourself, but for your brothers. Our clubs are the most approachable opportunity to pursue this. Show up for yourself and your community.

John Mallory Student Association President

St. Francis Student Association

Moderators: Laurie Schmidbauer, Laura Stone

Senior Class Moderator: Sean Obrochta

Junior Class Moderator: Justin Moretta

Sophomore Class Moderator: Laurie Schmidbauer, Laura Stone

Freshmen

Jacob Gearhart

Owen Riggs Cameron Rogan

Clubs and Activities

Alverna

Moderator: Friar Antonio Moualeu

Named after the mountain where Saint Francis of Assisi received the stigmata, Alverna is St. Francis High School's Peer Ministry homeroom. With a membership of Juniors and Seniors, the Alverna homeroom serves to further the mission of Campus Ministry. Alvernans plan school liturgies, run Class retreats, organize service projects, participate in special days of community service, cultivate experiences of faith sharing, and enjoy a spirit of Franciscan brotherhood. Acting as faith leaders in the school community, members of the Alverna homeroom are selected through an application process that examines their skills for leadership, communication, collaboration, and spiritual guidance.

Anime Club

Moderator: Mollie McDermott

The Saint Francis Anime club is a fun club where students can share their love of Japanese animation, culture, and food! We meet every week to watch different anime titles, from classics to the latest release. We take "Dinner and a Movie" trips to experience Japanese cuisine and view new rel ease m ov ies on the big screen. We also extend our fandoms to include other genres, like sci fi, fantasy, or just watch some fun YouTube videos. This is a social club, attendance is not mandatory come when you can! All students are welcome to attend!

Art Club

Moderator: Kevin Whalen

The Art Club is a year round extracurricular group that will set out to provide students with an opportunity to pursue challenging projects in Ceramics, Oil Painting, and Sculpture. It is open to any student at St. Francis who possesses a sincere interest in creativity. In addition to their individual pursuits, Art Club members will collaborate on projects to be displayed around campus. Such group projects include but are not limited to, the design and painting murals, the design and assembly of bulletin boards, and the design and creation of decorations to be used at liturgical functions and school spirit events throughout the year. See Mr. Whalen for more information.

Big Brother Program

Moderator: Justin Moretta

The big brother program seeks to foster relationships between upperclassmen and freshmen by pairing a junior or senior with each incoming freshman. The upperclassman serves as a mentor and helps explain what it means to be part of the brotherhood of Saint Francis to his little brother.

Chess Club

Moderator: Mark Niedziela

The purpose of the Chess Club is to teach students to be better players. As the skill level of members increases, they develop a better appreciation of the game. The club also teaches very important problem solving skills, useful in all aspects of life.

Club members meet on a weekly basis. Some students play more often, sometimes two or three times a week. There is also an annual tournament.

Color Guard Club

Moderator: TBD

The Color Guard Club is a year round extracurricular group that will provide students with an opportunity to take part in the daily raising and lowering of the American Flag. It is student led by upperclassmen and is open to any student at St. Francis who possesses a sincere interest in Patriotism and respect for our National Standard. Color Guard Club members will learn basic military drill, U.S. Flag etiquette, leadership, and some techniques used by top rate drill teams across the country. Color Guard Club meets daily in the Quad for flag raising/lowering (designated members), and weekly on select afternoons from 2:15pm - 3:00pm.

Concert Band

Moderator: August Vitale

Concert Band is an instrumental music group that meets each morning school is in session, in fact, it's a home room. The group plays classic and contemporary band music and performs at the Christmas and spring concerts. Typically Concert Band has 60-70 members. If you play a band instrument we'd love to have you join.

DEI Initiative

Moderator: Jon Kiefer

The DEI Initiative is a student group that works to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in our school community. We attend conferences, discuss current events, music, film and culture in an effort to create a school atmosphere where everyone feels a sense of belonging and can be heard. We hope to organize events, collaborate with other schools and engage in other meaningful efforts to further our mission in this important time in history. This group is open to everyone and we especially encourage our students of color to help lead us in this important work.

E-Sports Club

Moderators: Tim Monahan, Mark Niedziela

Our Esports club offers a competitive environment in which teams will play the newest and most popular video games against schools from across the country. Current game offerings include Valorant, Rocket League, and Chess, with Fortnite and Madden possible for the future. We will hold tryouts in the fall and choose our first teams before fall competitive play begins in September. Participants will also have the opportunity to win college scholarships.

Franciscan Youth Ministry (FYM)

Moderator: Rory Reichenberg, Franciscan Youth Ministry (FYM) is a club open to all students. We provide opportunities to put faith into action, living out the Christian, Catholic, and Franciscan identity of St. Francis High School. In a typical year over 100 students participate in at least one of our off-campus trips including: the March for Life in Washington D.C., a summer service week in rural West Virginia, a Franciscan Youth Conference in Ohio, numerous service trips across WNY, and activities like hiking, kayaking, snow-tubing, and rock-climbing. Our furthest trip is a ten day pilgrimage to Rome & Assisi in Italy.

French Club

Moderator: Laurie Schmidbauer

The main objective of the French club is to bring students together with their classmates and moderator in order to learn more about Francophone culture and customs. Students participate in a variety of activities which will include making crafts, games, cooking and food tasting, possible trips to museums, dinner at local restaurants, guest speakers, and French films. Students will also become familiar with different celebrations such as Mardi Gras, and taking part in National Foreign Language Week.

Future Business Leaders of America

Moderator: Toni Lambert

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is a Nationally recognized student organization consisting of those who are interested in the business world. Participation is open to any student within the school. We participate in various business competitions throughout the school year, and also go on field trips to local businesses.

Knights of Mary Immaculate

Moderator: TBD

The famous Franciscan and martyr St. Maximilian Kolbe is known for spreading devotion to the Blessed Mother. We continue this tradition weekly by praying the Rosary together, consecration to the Blessed Mother, and experiencing Marian devotion in other ways, e.g. celebrating feast days and visiting the Shrine of Our Lady Fatima. Please join us in prayer and fellowship!

Jazz Messengers

Moderator: August Vitale

The Jazz Messengers is an instrumental music group that performs jazz, rock, and pop music. The group rehearses Mondays and Thursdays from 2:15 3:00 pm and is open to experienced instrumentalists with membership by audition. The Jazz Messengers play at the annual Christmas and spring concerts as well as various events off campus throughout the school year.

K-OS

Moderator: K OS is a percussion ensemble that plays a wide range of music on traditional as well as "found" percussion instruments. If you've ever seen Stomp or Blue Man Group you have an idea what K OS is all about. The group rehearses Tuesdays from 2:15 -3:00 pm and performs at the annual Christmas and Spring concerts as well as various off campus events throughout the school year.

Men’s Choir

Moderator: Chris DeVries

Although we sing for the school liturgies, we perform all kinds of different music! Composed of 9-12 students, no audition or prior singing experience is needed to be one of us!

Mock Draft Club

Moderator: Michael Morcelle

Mock Draft Club is a club that meets to discuss the process of the NFL Draft. We get together to learn, discuss, and sometimes debate the NCAA college football prospects. Using statistics, game film, and general football knowledge, we evaluate the college football talent and the needs of the NFL teams. We then rank the player positions as the NFL Draft approaches in the spring and make mock drafts of our own. Local media personalities will sometimes come as guest speakers to discuss the NFL combine and their own predictions. The club's year culminates on the first night of the NFL Draft with a big pizza watch party together at the school. This club focuses on learning to make good debatable arguments based on facts and statistics in a relaxed way, based on a fun, popular topic.

Mock Trial

Moderator: Tim Monahan

Students in Mock Trial take part in simulated courtroom proceedings to help them learn about the roles of attorneys and counsel in our justice system. Our team receives each year's new case (criminal or civil) in December, giving us roughly 2 months to prepare before competition. Every participating team plays both sides at least once prosecution and defense –so students will need to prepare examination and cross examination questions from both perspectives. While it might seem daunting to play lawyer at such a young age, the NYS Mock Trial competition is less concerned about who "wins" a case and more interested in students practicing performance and rhetorical skills. Our team at St. Francis also includes an attorney coach who helps students prepare material and provides insight and guidance as to the ins and outs of the justice system.

Model UN

Moderator: Richard Luczak

The Model UN club focuses on the political, social, and economic issues in the modern world. Club meetings are focused on discussion about developments in world affairs and examining and analyzing how these central issues have been apparent throughout history and affect the decision making of various countries. Students who enjoy debating and discussing world events through the lens of comparative politics are encouraged to join!

Mundi Eventus

Moderator: Richard Luczak

Mundi Eventus means “World Events” in Latin. As such, this club examines the history of the past and present. The best way to learn history is to experience it. Therefore, the club takes numerous field trips around the Northeastern United States each school year, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Toronto, Niagara on the Lake, Fort George (Canada), Niagara Falls, and Philadelphia. The club also hosts the wildly popular SFHS Mini Stick Tournament each year. All students, especially freshmen, are encouraged to join.

National Honor Society

Moderator: Richard Luczak

The National Honor Society is an organization that recognizes and fosters academic achievement while developing other characteristics essential to citizens in a democracy. Scholarship, character, service and leadership are essential ideals that remain the backbone of the society. Through the NHS chapter, members maintain and extend the qualities that won them selection. Membership is both an honor and an obligation. Membership in the Dr. Leo M. Michalek, Sr. Chapter of the NHS is restricted to a group of select students who have proven themselves to be outstanding in scholarship, service to the school, leadership qualities and character. The NHS is affiliated at both the regional and national levels, and is chartered by the Association of Secondary School Principals, Washington, D.C.

Paduan Scholars

Moderator: Michael Messore

The Paduan Scholars Program offers a challenging Honors curriculum for gifted students. The Program is named for St. Anthony of Padua, patron of the Franciscan Friars Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province who staff St. Francis High School. His keen intellect, strength of character and unshakable faith earned him the title “Doctor of the Church”. Paduan Scholars are expected to meet the curricular and extra curricular requirements while maintaining a cumulative average of 93% or better. To be a candidate for the Paduan Scholars Program, a student must have demonstrated ability as evidenced by his performance on the entrance examination and high achievement in middle school.

Students accepted into the Paduan Scholars Program will be offered several challenging learning opportunities. Classes will include specially crafted assignments and enriching activities designed to enhance critical thinking skills and creativity. Paduans are expected to focus on application of concepts, analysis of issues, and recognition of cross disciplinary connections. All freshmen candidates will be enrolled in the Honors seminar during the second semester. The course specifically addresses vital skills and strategies such as time management, organization, logic and reasoning, journal writing, library research, and technology based presentations. The goal of the seminar is to set a course of success for students in the Paduan program, in college, and in life. Paduan Scholars will have extra curricular opportunities available to them to prepare them for making career choices. An after school program called, “A Day in the Life Of...” offers deeper insight into the daily career experiences of different professionals. Alumni and friends of the school describe how they achieved their success and answer questions our young men might have. Students may seek out an internship in a particular field of interest. The student will receive 0.25 credits upon successful completion of the internship. Paduan Scholars must attend special field trips. The field trips are designed to provide hands on experiences and cultural enrichment that complement their classroom lessons across the curriculum. Past trips include Buffalo River History Tours, the Albright Knox and Burchfield Penny Art Galleries, Rich Products, Moog, Fisher Price, the Earthquake Research Facility at UB, Tifft Farm Nature Preserve, the Downtown Buffalo Public Library, and Forest Lawn Cemetery just to name a few.

As a culminating, college preparatory project, senior Paduan Scholars will complete and present the Senior Paduan Capstone Project. Paduans are required to immerse themselves into a topic of study for which they have a genuine interest and complete a research based argument and defense of their findings and experiences. The final projects must be presented to faculty and peers. The Paduan Program is an opportunity and a challenge for our most gifted students. The Program incorporates the mission of St. Anthony of Padua, incorporating “keen intellect, strength of character, and unshakable faith” to produce the scholars, leaders, and men of Christ for the 21st century.

Performing & Visual Arts Society

Moderator:

Chris DeVries

(PAVAS)

PAVAS, or the Performing and Visual Arts Society, is a national organization dedicated to recognizing young men and women who have contributed substantially to the Fine Arts in his or her school. To be inducted into PAVAS, a student must be nominated by a Faculty member in either their Junior or Senior year.

Role Playing Club

Moderator: Mark Niedziela

In Role Playing Club, we play the classic fantasy desktop dice game, Dungeons & Dragons. Students meet in person and create characters on paper which are led on a Tolkien type adventure, slaying dragons and fighting evildoers.

School Ambassadors

Moderators: Sam Hendricks, Cassie McKee

The St. Francis High School Student Ambassador Program is a group of outstanding students who are selected by administration to represent the School to prospective students, their families and the community at large. These students are carefully selected based on grades, personality, character, communication skills, and leadership capabilities. Students can be proud to have been selected for this prestigious role. As campus tour guides, Student Ambassadors, provide visitors with a realistic glimpse of the St. Francis High School experience and include an overview of campus facilities, programs, and atmosphere. Ambassadors may also be asked by the Admissions Office to represent St. Francis High School at recruitment fairs, school visits, and community events. Student Ambassadors understand the benefits of a St. Francis High school education and advocate this option for all throughout our diverse community. As leaders, Student Ambassadors will assist in the training tour guides for the Annual Open House Event held at the beginning of each academic year.

STEM/Robotics Club

Moderator: Friar Antonio Moualeu

STEM/Robotics Club is an upcoming, brand new, club at St. Francis High School that welcomes all students interested and passionate about all things STEM. Future student members will strive to be science and technology leaders and innovators that will inspire their peers through their passion for STEM.

They will achieve this in many ways, including learning aspects of the idea to product process, learning, when necessary, to safely use relevant equipment or software, participating in occasional STEM/Robotics competitions, and helping to give back, for instance, through their involvement in summer STEM/Robotics camps for middle schoolers.

Senior Schola

Moderator: Chris DeVries

Senior Schola Cantorum is the premier vocal ensemble at St. Francis. Consisting of auditioned Seniors, the chamber group performs music from all eras of history; from Bach to Broadway, from Beethoven to Bastille.

SFHS Writers@Work

Moderator: TBD

Our Writers@Work student publication is an online literary magazine that provides students with opportunities to see their work (writing, films, photography, etc.) published for a wide audience. Students can submit work they have completed for classes, but there are also opportunities to compose work that will be of interest for the St. Francis community at large. Staff includes editors, podcasters, and writers all creative minds are encouraged to join.

Ski & Snowboard Club

Moderators: Fr. Max Avila, Br. Timothy Blanchard, Sam Hendricks, Laurie Schmidbauer

We travel to Holiday Valley on 8 Friday Nights. We typically start in January, but if we have an early winter, we will start sooner. We leave directly from SFHS at 3:30pm on a yellow bus and return to St. Francis High School by 11:15pm. Bus space is limited so it is first come first serve. Only current students of SFHS can purchase a pass through the club.

Spanish Club (El Círculo Español)

Moderators: Norma Hess, Sarah Lanigan

The main objective of the Spanish club is to bring students together with their classmates and moderators in order to learn more about Hispanic culture and customs. Students participate in a variety of activities which have included making crafts, cooking and food tasting, dinner at local Mexican restaurants, watching movies participating in presentations on countries and topics in the Spanish speaking world and a Spanish liturgy. Students also become familiar with and celebrate holidays and events. Members of the Spanish club also make Christmas ornaments for residents of an area nursing home, go Christmas caroling and participate in other service activities throughout the year. The club meets twice a month on Mondays.

St. Francis Technical Staff (Stage Crew)

Moderator: Chris DeVries

Building sets, running sound, and programming a lighting board are just a few things stage crew does. If you want to get involved in the theatre productions, but suffer from crippling stage fright, then join stage crew!

St. Francis Ushers

Moderator: Richard Luczak

Students may volunteer to usher for our school’s theatrical performances. With a fall drama and a spring musical, there are ample opportunities for students to get involved with the fine arts, even if not on stage. Students work the box office, assist patrons with seating, coat room, concession stand, distribute programs, and other tasks as required. All students, especially freshmen, are encouraged to join!

St. Francis Players

Moderator: Fr. Mark David Skura

For almost 50 years, St. Francis High School has produced full scale, Broadway style plays and musicals. Coupled with an even longer history of presenting quality dramas has made our drama program a cornerstone of the Fine Arts program. Each year the St. Francis Players present a drama in the fall and a musical in the spring. Led by trained personnel, these stage productions are centered on student involvement. Students perform in the play, build and work the sets, run the technical equipment, and play in the band. Involvement in the St. Francis Players is open to all St. Francis students and girls from area high schools.

St. Francis Student Association Moderators: Laurie Schmidbauer, Laura Stone

The purpose of the Student Association of Saint Francis High School is to further the development of leadership qualities, to train its members in the duties of citizenship, and to encourage the spread of democracy within the student body. In pursuit of these goals, the Student Association shall promote school unity and spirit, work for the general interest and welfare of the student body, and act as a mediator between students and school administration, through the execution of approved activities for the student body.

WSTF-TV

Moderator: Mike Messore

WSTF-TV is a club that allows students to create video art in the form of news and entertainment segments featuring daily announcements, commercials, game shows, interviews, documentaries, and skits. Originally known as the Raider News Network (RNN), the group began as a way to keep students, faculty, parents, alumni, and all other members of the St. Francis High School community informed and updated on current student and alumni achievements. In addition, the hope was to incite interest and enthusiasm for school events and to promote school spirit as we represent all members of the extracurricular and academic life of the Red Raider, all while showcasing the many talents of our students. The organization continues to grow and assume more creative and informative responsibilities throughout the school by assisting the Admissions Office and Institutional Advancement Office in recruiting students, promoting events, and creating appeals for fundraising. Currently, most members belong to Homeroom 301 and work before and after school to brainstorm, write, film, edit, and produce the shows. An elective titled Film, Advertising, and Journalism is offered to allow a more significant concentration of time and effort to produce the show and assist with other media related tasks.

In 2014 we began hosting a film festival to showcase our students' more ambitious film projects, and the event serves as a final project for the elective as students plan, promote, advertise, fundraise, decorate, and create content for the event. Four awards are presented to filmmakers at the end of the festival: Best Creative Short, Best Commercial Short, Best Investigative Documentary, and the People's Choice Award. Our goal as an organization is to include all members of the St. Francis family to participate and to showcase all that makes our school and our students excellent. We aim to unite all aspects of student life—the arts, athletics, academics, and after school clubs in one, ambitious venture that truly represents the work of Renaissance Men.

Yearbook (The Crusader) Moderator: Kevin Whalen

We meet daily during homeroom to put together the yearbook for St. Francis High School. Students collaborate to decide the theme, various spread ideas, interview and write articles, take photos of the various events, and often attend a few special trips throughout the year.

St. Francis Intramural Activities

Basketball

Moderator: Brian Ferris

Challenge your friends to a game on the hard wood courts of the St. Francis gymnasium this year. Teams of 10 or less compete in 5 on 5 regulation basketball with two 20 minute halves of fast paced exciting action complete with officials and scorekeepers. Games will begin at 2:20 and will be played twice a week (days TBD). The season starts with a draft and will end with a single elimination playoff tournament to determine the intramural champion. Make sure you listen to announcements for sign ups as this sport fills up fast as it is one of the most popular intramural activities.

Bowling

Moderator: Jason Cretacci

Challenge your friends to a game on the lanes at Abbot Lanes this year. Teams compete in bowling sets of 3 games, with scores, wins & losses, and averages kept by Abbot Lanes. The Intramural Bowling season begins before the start of the Interscholastic Bowling season to also get guys ready for the season ahead. At the end of the season there is a pizza party and an intramural champion is determined. There is a small fee to cover the cost of lanes, bowling ball & shoes (if needed), and the food. Make sure you listen to announcements for sign ups as this sport fills up fast as it is one of the most popular intramural activities.

Ping Pong

Moderator: Richard Luczak

Intramural ping pong is an intramural sport offered in the late winter/early spring after school. Any student may sign up to participate, regardless of skill level. The focus is solely on having fun and enjoying the great sport of ping pong.

Volleyball

Moderators: Andy Lanigan, Bob Hasenoehrl

Intramural Volleyball offers students the chance to play 6 v 6 in a semi competitive arena. Intramural Volleyball is typically played at the conclusion of the Winter Sports season and before the beginning of the Spring Sports season. It is open to any student and runs from 2:15 pm 3:00 pm in the second gym. Multiple courts are used with multiple games being played. It is a fun way to continue to practice your volleyball skills or be introduced to the sport for the first time! The St. Francis Volleyball coaching staff runs the intramural volleyball program and helps students with questions about the game!

Fall Athletics and Coaches

Cross Country: Jon Kiefer

JV Football: TBA

Varsity Football: Jerry Smith

Golf: Chuck Stephenson

JV II Soccer: Richard Luczak

JV I Soccer: Arek Janiga

Varsity Soccer: Jason Cretacci

JV Volleyball: Bob Hasenoehrl

Varsity Volleyball: Andy Lanigan

Winter Athletics and Coaches

Freshman Basketball: Terrance Roberts

JV Basketball: Alex Davis

Varsity Basketball: Brian Ferris

JV/Varsity Bowling: Jason Cretacci

JV Red Hockey: TBA

JV Prep Hockey: Pat Roberts

Club Varsity Hockey: Jay Ciamaga, Richard Luczak

Varsity Federation Hockey: Jack Panek

Varsity Prep Hockey: Brian Becker

Indoor Track: Arek Janiga

Varsity Swimming: Sam Hendricks

Varsity Wrestling: Mike Messore

Spring Athletics and Coaches

Freshman Baseball: Craig Browning

JV Baseball: Scott Heywood

Varsity Baseball: Paul Bartell

JV Lacrosse: Cort Knodel

Varsity Lacrosse: Kevin Rautenstrauch

Varsity Tennis: Sam Hendricks

Track & Field: Steve Otremba